As high school students explore potential college majors and careers, they face a difficult choice: whether to enter the world of STEM or the humanities.

According to the University of California, STEM promotes education in science, technology, engineering and math. In contrast, Stanford University defines the humanities as “the study of how people process and document the human experience.” This field encompasses subjects like philosophy, literature, art, music, history, language and religion.

This past decade showed an increase in students pursuing STEM over the humanities. Economicmodeling.com reported that the number of STEM degrees increased by 43 percent from 2010 to 2016. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences found that the number of humanities degrees awarded declined by 10 percent in 2016.

Junior Michelle Moroses of Wall said she believes that schools focus more on STEM than the humanities.

“We have five career academies, and four of them are more STEM-based and one of them, CHS, is more like humanities,” Moroses said.

The emphasis placed on STEM by schools and pressure from family and friends to seek a career in STEM can deter students from a career in the humanities.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers reported that “more than half the employers surveyed said they planned to hire graduates with bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields, making them the most sought-after candidates entering the job market” in 2016.

Moroses, who wants to major in English, said she fears becoming a “starving artist,” a term used to describe those who choose to practice art rather than take a well-paying job. Still, she said that degrees in the humanities are versatile.

“People tell me that I’m not going to be able to get a job, but if you major in English… then you can get a job in basically anything where you need to write well. I can go into PR. I can go into marketing. I can go to law school,” Moroses said. “There’s a lot more options than people think.”

Senior Abigail Fessel of Middletown said that hard work is effective in achieving success, regardless of the career path that one chooses.

“I think that a starving artist is a lazy artist, you know? Do your work, and you’ll be fine,” Fessel said.